Aftermath of Rainy Nights
by Isis 01
Summary: 1xR In the midst of a rainy night Relena stands in her house, lonely and depressed after all the changes she has had to undergo. Blissfully unaware of the fated midnight visit she's about to receive. A relatively short story about new beginnings.
1. Chapter 1

Sadly, I do not own Gundam Wing or any of its characters. I'm just using them for fun and enjoyment.

Aftermath of Rainy Nights

_By Isis 01_

It had been raining all morning long. The sky was white and cloudy, and the fog sweeping through the air gave her backyard an eerie and hunting feeling as Relena looked through her window. The entire house was in silence, only the dripping of solitary rain drops could be heard.

She was completely alone. She liked it better that way.

It hadn't always been like that. Before, she had had Pagan with her, always by her side, offering silent but irreplaceable support. Throughout her entire life, wars and all, Pagan had been there with her, never leaving her side. He had been the paternal figure she had so desperately needed. Even when the Darlians had still been alive, she had been more close to Pagan than to her own adoptive parents.

But Pagan was gone now. The illness that had been silently molesting him for so many years had finally taken its toll on him, and exactly 4 months from this day he had finally succumbed to it.

His death had been the drawing line for Relena, and 2 days from his death she had resigned her job as Vice Foreign Minister.

Many thought of it a drastic decision and had even feared an end would come to the peace they had so thoroughly enjoyed. Of course nothing of the likes happened. Peace remained stable, just like it had been for the past two years.

Two years of peace. Two years since the Mareimaia incident.

Two years since she had seen him.

Him being the enigma named Heero Yuy.

Heero Yuy, the boy—no, the man now—that stirred a series of indescribable feelings in her. He had always been a mystery to her, and she had been intrigued by his silent and mysterious personality. That much she was sure of.

Always surprising her with what he did. One moment he would be pointing a gun to her chest, and the next he would be rescuing her from the hands of doom.

When she had first met him she had been so intrigued by the mystery and elusiveness that surrounded him that she couldn't help but try to follow him around, in hopes of discovering the secrets that he kept and were somehow connected with her own existence. This display of "stalkery", as Duo would call it, had led people to believe that she had a serious case of infatuation with the stoic ex-pilot of the Gundam 01.

That, of course, had not been true at all. Well…at least at that time.

No, at that time Relena had simply held a deep respect for the stoic pilot. A deep sense of admiration, awe, and even a kind of friendly endearment towards him. But she had not had that stupid crush everyone thought she had had on Heero. At least not on that time.

No, the romantic feelings had started towards the end of the Eve Wars. What had at first been respect and admiration had turned into a deep sense of love.

At first, Relena was afraid and confused of the strange feelings she harbored, but there had been nothing she could have done to stop herself from falling for the brave young pilot.

Nothing could have prevented her from falling for him; not his cold, indifferent personality, nor the barrel of his gun, the death threats, or his frozen, unfeeling heart. Not even his sudden (but expected) disappearance after the Mariemaia incident swayed her stubborn heart.

Because deep inside her, Relena knew his cold personality was the result of the hard training he had had to undergo at such a young age. And that, in reality, Heero was a kind-hearted person, who was forced to put up a false façade in order to survive the harsh world that surrounded him.

Anyways, it still hurt. Especially since she knew that the day Heero left to disappear, he took her heart with him.

Relena broke out of her heart-wrenching train of thoughts when a sudden noise disrupted the thick silence she had been standing in. She wasn't alarmed though. The death threats had stopped some time after she had resigned, and besides, she had an idea of who had made the noise.

And, true enough, a second later a small mob of dark brown hair appeared from behind the couch closest to Relena. Big, ethereal green eyes looked up to her as she approached her little companion.

She gently took the kitten she had named Zero into her arms, the green eyes that had given it its name never leaving her face.

Duo had given it to her a few weeks ago, 'An early birthday present', he had said, though she knew very well he gave it to her so she wouldn't be all alone.

Anyway, whatever the reason, it hadn't mattered much to her, and when she had seen the kitten's big, green, almost fluorescent, eyes, she had been instantly reminded of the machine's own green eyes, which would light up when it was switched on.

Kind of ironic to name a sweet, playful, almost harmless creature after a machine that could cause so much destruction.

But she liked its name, it gave him personality. Not that it didn't have enough already. In truth, Zero was probably the only thing in the entire house that really gave signs of life. Playful and cheerful in nature, without Zero, Relena knew her life would be a lot duller than what it already was. It was thanks to Zero, and her best friends Duo and Hilde that Relena hadn't already given up on her life.

A smile crept up to her lips as she thought about the ex-pilot of the Gundam Deathscythe and his perky girlfriend.

They were Relena's lifesavers. She wouldn't know what to do without them.

Relena's delicate hand settled over Zero's soft fur as her mind started to drift.

She had stayed in contact with all the pilots (except you-know-who) after the Mariemaia incident.

Wufei became a Preventer and was currently working with his partner, Sally Po, here on Earth, usually living in the city of Brussels, where the Preventers' Headquarters and Relena's home were located. And though Relena didn't know him so well she always knew how he was doing, that being due to the close friendship Relena kept with Sally Po, who was also her doctor. Relena suspected there was something going on between Sally and Wufei, but didn't comment on it. If Wufei ever heard something of the likes he would probably go berserk on her.

Quatre had taken control of his family's business, and, with the help of his sisters and the ever-faithful Maguanacs, managed to keep everything on track. It sure wasn't an easy job, especially with the number of colonies the company owned, but even with that, Quatre managed to find time to call her once a week to see how she was doing and what was going on at Brussels. He had always been a great friend to her, and Relena knew that a better listener than Quatre could not exist.

Quatre also informed her about Trowa's doings. Though usually very quiet, Trowa was a very wise person and, whenever in trouble, the pilot of the Heavyarms would be the one to run to. Relena had a very special friendship with him and she would visit him every time he was in the vicinities. Anyhow, it was mostly thanks to Quatre that she managed to stay in touch with Trowa.

After the Wars he had returned to the circus. His sister, Catherine had been overjoyed to have him back and he had been traveling with them all over the world and the colonies ever since.

But out of all of the Gundam Pilots and their families, the ones she was closest to where definitely Duo and Hilde. When peace had settled in they had brought their salvaging business down to Earth, finally settling down in the city of Brussels. After some time Duo got a job at the Preventers, while Hilde stayed at home with the salvaging business. It wasn't until Duo got ascended to Relena's bodyguard that she really got to know them. And wasn't she glad she did!

Duo and Hilde really were her best friends. They had always been there for her. When Pagan had died, the self-proclaimed God of Death and his dark-haired girlfriend had been her pillar of strength.

Relena was taken out of her reverie by Zero's meowing, whom was tired of being hugged and was also probably hungry.

Giving one last look towards her window she noticed it was dark outside. Had she been thinking that long? Apparently yes.

Turning away from her window and her depressing thoughts Relena sought to feed her little companion.

AN: Okay, that was the first chapter. I really, really hoped you liked it. I doubt it though, since this IS my first story at Anyways, I would really appreciate it if you reviewed. I need to know if people like my story or not, that way I'll know if I should post the rest of the chapters, which are already done, or not. So please review if you liked my story. I openly accept constructive criticism. Everything but flamers. So, if you're a flamer looking for fun I suggest you go look somewhere else 'cause I'll simply ignore you. Thanks, and happy reviewing! -


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters, I just like playing with them.

Chapter 2

It had been raining all day long. Now it was just a gentle drizzle, but it was enough to scare people out of the streets and into their houses. Not all people though.

A mysterious figure could be seen walking through the dense fog on the silent street. Even more silent was the figure, which, due to its size and form could be undoubtedly described as male. His footfalls were unintentionally silent and he walked with a stealth that could be compared to that of a panther's.

A dark trench covered most of his long, slim but muscular body. Underneath his coat he was wearing a pair of jeans and a simple, dark blue shirt.

A mob of dark unruly brown hair covered his head. Order did not exist in it and it made a person wonder if the man had ever used a comb. But his hair did not need to be combed, its untamed state only added mystery and looks to the man's already handsome face.

Very handsome face.

A perfect, straight nose and thin-but-full lips occupied his face. His most mesmerizing features though, were his eyes. Steeled with determination, they were a most uncommon tone of dark blue; the color the sky takes at night; Prussian blue. Those eyes held years and years of silent suffering, impossibly wise for the youth's age; a deep sadness and desperation filled those twin gorgeous orbs of blue.

Only if you were looking for it you would see it. That small flicker of hope that would appear in his eyes whenever thoughts of a unique person would cross the youth's mind.

Hope.

It was small, that flicker of hope, but it was enough to keep him going.

It was all he had left after all.

It were thoughts of her that made him want to continue, though he didn't know why. Despite everything that had happened, her image still occupied his mind; her face still haunted and tainted him. It was always there. No matter what he did, no matter what he thought, Relena would somehow find her way into his mind.

_Relena…_

The name alone stirred unusual emotions and feelings within himself. That was strange. Especially since he wasn't supposed to feel.

He was the Perfect Soldier after all.

But still, no matter what he tried to do, just imagining her face would make him feel warm and fuzzy.

And warm and fuzzy were things the Perfect Soldier SHOULD NOT be feeling.

But then, he wasn't the Perfect Soldier anymore. Was he?

This unnerving train of thoughts had been bothering him for the last two years.

Two years since the Wars had ended.

Two years since the peace had settled in.

Two years since he had seen her.

He had tried to understand (many times in fact) those feelings that Relena stirred in him. And though in his subconscious he had a pretty good idea of what exactly was happening to him, he stubbornly refused to acknowledge it.

Still, it had been this train of thoughts that had brought him here, all over from the Colony L-1, to Earth, to Brussels.

To walk down the streets in search of her, all wet and cold from the drizzle and the chilly air.

It had been Duo, his self-proclaimed best friend, who had finally convinced Heero to confront Relena. Duo's strategy had been to simply inform Heero of Relena's state. No encouragement had been needed. Her situation had been enough.

Apparently, her faithful butler's death had triggered something in her and, after two years of never ending work and depression, the 18 year old girl had finally snapped.

He didn't blame her. From what he knew, being the Vice Foreign Minister had really been a straining job, and what with her adoptive mother's death and her brother's complete disappearance, she had been left completely alone to her job. With only the faithful Pagan to help her out. Duo and Hilde were always there with her, but there was only little they could do to cheer her up.

Now Pagan was also gone, and from what he knew, she had left the Darlian's mansion to live in a house in a more private and deserted neighborhood. All alone.

Heero Yuy frowned at that. He didn't like the idea of Relena living alone.

He didn't like it one bit.

Prussian blue eyes looked up towards the sky. The sun hadn't come out the entire day, but even without the sun, it was easy to tell it was getting darker. The drizzle had not stopped though.

Heero looked at himself. He was soaked. Completely soaked.

Well, after walking for hours under the rain he wouldn't have expected any less. He didn't care anyway. Right now his mind was set on finding Relena.

He suddenly realized he hadn't been paying attention to where his feet had been taking him. A little annoyed at himself, he looked at his surroundings, his eyes alert to everything, even in the night's darkness. A small yellow sign caught his attention and upon reading _Pine Tree _he realized he had arrived at her street.

His sense of direction wasn't so rusty after all.

He resumed his walking, but not for long. Heero's feet stopped in front of a gravel path that led to a nice house. It was the biggest one out of the entire neighborhood, not enough to be considered a mansion, but big enough in itself. Perfect for Relena.

It had a nice, big, front backyard covered with lush, green grass. The rain droplets in the grass leaves shining with the light reflected from the moon gave the place an ethereal feel, and the big pine trees that were scattered all over the place gave one the feeling of being in the middle of the forest. He liked it.

The house had a nice, wooden front porch, ideal for sitting there on hot summer nights.

The house in itself was very pretty, Victorian style, with wooden carvings on the many windows, and a dark, wooden roof covered the top of the house.

Relena had good taste.

Determined, Heero gave a nervous sigh (though he would never admit he was nervous) and quietly started walking over to the porch.

He stopped in his tracks however, when his eyes caught a flicker of movement. With quick reflexes, he dashed behind a pine tree so as not to be discovered.

He let a few seconds pass before looking back to where he had detected the movement. And, sure enough, there, on one of the body-long windows a human figure could be seen.

Everything was dark, and though no lights on the house were on, Heero knew perfectly well who the owner of the figure was.

The moment his heart (or what was left of it) started doing strange somersaults in his chest he knew it could only be her. He was only further confirmed when the hairs on the back of his neck started standing up.

Though he wasn't close to the house he could still define her delicate features. Her hair took a silver color from his standing spot and two sparkling diamond eyes could be distinguished. She was holding a dark bundle in her arms, it moved. That most have been what caught his attention in the first place. A cat, if he wasn't wrong.

He never was.

Suddenly the curvy, feminine figure started walking away and was soon out of his sight. A little worry nagged at him. Heero really hoped she hadn't seen him. He didn't want to scare her.

This thought brought him back to the dilemma of what she would do when he finally showed himself. What would he say? That she was driving him crazy and that he came to find out why? That he needed her guidance? That he couldn't, for the life of him, leave her on the memories of his past? He needed answers. Desperately.

She had always been so special. Unlike anyone he had met.

He had threatened her, promised to kill her and had even pointed his gun to her pretty chest. And what had she done? She had smiled, asked him to keep his promise, made a reverence and asked him to dance.

Then she had said she was on his side. Fighting with him.

She had lost him there.

But what had really started an inner struggle within himself had been the fact that he hadn't been able to kill her.

What had happened to him? Since when did the Perfect Soldier hesitate?

Who was this girl that was able to make him, the Perfect Soldier, contradict himself?

He had escaped that night. From her. From his battling, confusing mind. And his emotions.

It had turned out that, in reality, she was the last, lost princess of the Cinq Kingdom's Royal Family.

This discovery was what later brought her to the position of Queen of the World.

During this lapse her pacifist ideals and dreams had been formed and these ideals were what later brought her over to the battleship Libra, to her brother, and to Heero.

He still remembered the moment Duo had informed him that Relena Peacecraft was aboard Libra. He had had a sudden urge to see her, and the next thing he had known was that he was aboard a cargo ship the pilots had stolen to go to Libra to rescue her.

Now he was back, after two years. Idly, he wondered about what was about to happen.

There was no turning back now.

He looked monotonously towards the window where she had been perched before.

Now he would let his perfect soldier instincts lead him.

He was going in.

AN: Ok, so that was the second chapter, which is all I'll post for now. I need to see what people think before actually continuing with this. Thanks and please review!


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters, I just like playing with them. Oh, and I'll warn you, this is my first fic so I apologize beforehand if it sucks.

Chapter 3

Sky blue eyes looked towards the ceiling. Golden hair was spread loose around its owner. And, just like her hair, her arms and legs were spread around the bed she was resting on.

Still clad in a pair of comfortable jeans, a baby blue sweater and white socks. She was too lazy to change into her pajamas. She probably wouldn't have any sleep anyway; her mind was awake with too many thoughts to relax. If anything, she would fall asleep from exhaustion.

This was rare for Relena. After all, sleeping had been her favorite activity throughout these last 4 months. Whether it had been to make up for all the sleepless nights spent as Vice Minister or just to simply avoid the cruelty of real life she didn't know. Maybe it was both. Frankly, she didn't care.

Tired of thinking about the mess that she called her life, Relena looked towards the window from her spot on the bed. Something was going on. It wasn't only that no crickets could be heard, and that Zero was unusually perky and alert (even for him) from his spot at the end of the bed. No, there was simply something in the chilly night's air that whispered trouble.

What kind of trouble, Relena didn't know, but she did know that that night something was amiss.

Years before, she would have only dismissed it as her imagination and paranoia, but tough years and life's reality had changed her. She was wiser and more alert, and she had learned to trust her instincts more than anything.

Said instincts were going crazy in her head at that particular moment, warning her that something big was going to happen. Still, she remained there, laying on her bed, waiting. Really, there was nothing else she could do but wait. Besides, somehow, it felt like the right thing to do. And like I said, she trusted her instincts.

Even if she had been particularly waiting for it, it still came as a surprise when she heard it.

It was the unmistakable creak of wood. The sound that was produced when weight was set upon a weak piece of wood, particularly wooden floorboards. The weight being someone's foot.

Without making a noise, Relena bolted upright in her bed, straining her ears to assure herself.

There was someone inside her house. She could even pinpoint the person's exact location, for the only creaking floorboards in her house were located on the first floor, in her living room, near the stairs that led to the upper floor.

The intruder wanted to go upstairs.

Relena forced down the panic that had started to grow in her, reminding herself that fear would do nothing to help her. So, determined to defend herself against anything, she stood away from the bed.

With trembling fingers she opened a drawer that was next to her bed. There, glinting under the moon's light, laid a .9 millimeters.

Forcing her hand to stop its shaking, she cautiously picked the gun. The weapon was heavy in her hand.

Duo had given it to her a little after she had resigned; for her own protection, according to him. She had denied it, but Duo had convinced her to 'at least do it for him'. Since he wouldn't be there to protect her as her bodyguard anymore he told her he would feel safer if at least she had it in her possession.

There had been nothing she could do against those blue puppy eyes so, in the end, she had complied. If only to assure her friends.

Now, she felt as if she could kiss Duo. Thank God for his paranoia.

Taking a last look at Zero, who had his ears perked up in alert to any sound, she took an inner breath and quietly stepped out of the room.

Outside the hall everything was deadly quiet. She had learned to control her breathing (thanks to Duo and Trowa) and so, now not even that could be heard. With inaudible steps she reached the stairs. Another deep—inner—breath and she started the way down.

The gun secure in her hands as she made her way down, her heart was beating so fast and loud in her ears that she was sure the intruder could hear it.

There, at the end, she could see the landing.

This was it.

He almost growled in annoyance the moment a wood plank creaked under his foot. He contained himself though, and contented himself with glaring at the annoying piece of wood.

The Perfect Soldier did not make mistakes. He was getting rusty after all.

He really, really hoped she had not heard him, even got as far as almost praying.

The key word being _almost._

It wouldn't do any good anyways. He knew she had heard him. Something inside him was telling him that. Probably his soldier instincts.

So, glaring once more at the evil wood plank, he resigned himself to his fate and quietly stepped away from the stairs, directing himself to hide among the shadows while he waited for the princess to appear.

They were just a few minutes of waiting, but for Heero they seemed an eternity. Weird, because Heero had always been a very patient person. He needed to be patient; after all, he was a gundam pilot. And in his line of job, patience could sometimes mean the difference between success and failure. In other words, life or death.

Finally, Heero sensed the hairs on the back of his neck starting to stand up. This meant the afore-mentioned golden-haired princess was about to make her appearance. He moved his gaze towards the stairs.

He was impressed. He didn't know Relena was capable of moving with such stealth. So, after all, Duo hadn't been lying when he had said he had been teaching 'Lena' some new 'moves'.

Had Heero been an ordinary person he wouldn't have detected Relena's silent footfalls. But Heero was no ordinary person, and thanks to that he was able to hear her making her way down the stairs.

He could tell the fuzzy feeling was starting to form. Damn.

Finally, a golden head and a pair of little white feet appeared in his sight. Slowly, the rest of the body followed.

Heero Yuy felt his heart skip a beat at the sight before him.

Clad in a pair of jeans that exalted her long legs and curvy hips and in a sweater that did nothing to hider her lovely body; Heero suddenly felt the urge to jump through the window into the night's cold air.

Heero's nerves and discomfort only increased when he was granted a look at her face. He had always known Relena was a pretty specimen, but this was an exaggeration. Her beautiful features were more defined now. Gorgeous sky blue eyes, a straight, delicate nose and rosy full lips accented her lovely heart-shaped face. Her beautiful, long honey colored tresses almost reached her waist and he noticed she had grown her bangs. She had grown from a pretty, perky 15 year old girl to an 18 year old goddess.

And just where the hell had he been when all this growing up had occurred? True, he had been missing for the past 2 years, but she still was the same Relena he had known during the Eve Wars and, damn it all, he wasn't that blind!

Heero inwardly calmed, reminding himself that he had been too occupied trying to save both the Earth and the Colonies to follow his 15 year old raging hormones.

A new pride in his willpower was formed.

It was then that a flicker of light in Relena's right hand caught his attention and he realized that she was holding a .9 millimeter handgun; her long, manicured fingers were holding the weapon in a nervous but tight grip.

Heero frowned. What was Relena doing with a gun?

Comprehension dawned on him as he remembered that he was supposed to be an intruder. True, he didn't have any intentions of harming Relena, but she didn't know that. She only knew that there was someone unknown inside her house, and this fact alone, posed danger for her.

It was due time that he revealed himself. Deciding on his next course of action, it was at that moment that a pair of frightened blue eyes caught his in a steady gaze.

Damn it all.

AN: Ok, that was the third chapter. I really hoped you liked it. I tried to do my best, and I guess it wasn't THAT bad since it is my first story and all. Anyways, I really want to thank **Inda **and **Cassie Yuy** for being the very first two people to review me. You really made my day; made me feel more sure of myself, and for that I thank you. I'll soon post the fourth chapter, which is already done. Oh, and please please review, I really need to know if people like this story. Thanks and happy reviewing! -


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters, I just like to have fun with them. Oh and this is my first fic, so I apologize beforehand if it sucks.

Chapter 4

She was being watched. She could feel it.

She knew it the moment her feet had touched the landing.

She could feel the person's eyes on her. This only managed to unnerve her even more. To know that the person was already aware of her presence and position and that she didn't had the slightest clue of the intruder's hiding place. This scared her out of her mind.

The only hint of assurance she had rested heavily in her right hand. This was going to be ugly.

Suddenly, the feeling of being watched intensified; making the little hairs in the back of her head rise, and the adrenaline pumping through her veins had her ready to jump and attack at the slightest noise or movement.

She wouldn't go down without a fight.

It was with this new determination that she controlled her fear (well, sort of) and started looking at her surroundings in search of her intruder.

Her eyes straying to a curious group of shadows, it was there that she discovered a pair of eyes looking intensively at her.

In a second, all the courage that she had managed to muster went down the drain; the adrenaline increased ten-fold, but she found she couldn't get herself to move.

The gun, her only protection, remained forgotten on her hand. She couldn't take her eyes out of the person's heavy gaze. It was as if she was glued to the floor. Mesmerized with his gaze.

Those deep, Prussian blue eyes looki—

_Wait a minute, _her mind was trying to tell her something.

Prussian blue eyes? Mesmerizing gaze? Shadows?

Could it be? Could it really be?

"Relena…" a deep, monotonous voice resonated throughout her living room.

It only confirmed her suspicions.

"He-Heero?" she managed to said (or more like stuttered). Then with a little more confidence, "Heero, is that you?"

"Hn"

Any doubts disappeared with that.

Heero saw Relena let out the breath she had been holding and she visibly relaxed, the fear that had been nagging at her quickly disappearing. He felt a little guilty for scaring her, but only a little. It couldn't have been helped anyway.

Now that his presence had been revealed he detached himself from the shadows and stepped into the silver moon light that entered through the many windows.

Once again, Relena found herself holding her breath. But for entirely different reasons.

If she had thought Heero Yuy couldn't get more handsome, boy was she in for a surprise!

The distinctive roundness of boyhood had left his face, making it longer, harder and more defined. He also looked more…manly. His distinctive features were still there of course, the most impressive being his Prussian blue eyes, which were partially covered by his unruly dark brown hair, giving him an air of mystery and darkness. He had always had that dark, mysterious thing going on.

Growth hadn't only occurred on his face though. He was tall, really tall now. He was at least a head taller than her, and she wasn't so small herself. His shoulders had broadened out and from the glimpses she could get from his shirt she could tell his muscles were more defined now (if that was possible).

She felt her throat go dry. God help her.

She reminded herself to look somewhere else before she started gawking; bravely she looked towards Heero once more and was relieved to notice that he hadn't been paying attention to her…um, distraction.

She followed his gaze towards her own right hand; where the gun still rested.

She let out a soft, startled gasp. She had completely forgotten about the gun.

She looked at Heero again, trying to come up with an explanation about why there was a gun in her possession.

It was then that she noticed a small dark shadow forming on the floor at Heero's feet.

Brows furrowing, she wondered how had a poodle of water gotten into her living room. A sudden dripping made her look up towards the poodle's origins.

Heero was completely soaked.

His hair (still unruly as ever) was continuously dripping water, and she wondered how had she not seen him before, what with the noise (even if it was barely audible) the dripping caused.

His dark trench glimmered with the dew it had caught from the rain and his blue shirt was plastered to his skin; this (oh lord) caused his muscles to stand out even more.

That, however, was set aside as Relena's caring nature took control.

"Heero!" she gasped. He looked at her in question. Then she completed "You-you're soaked!"

Heero opened his mouth to reply to that when suddenly Relena took hold of his hand, dropped the gun on the floor (which miraculously didn't activate itself) and dashed towards the stairs. Stunned by her bold move, he didn't even have time to focus on the fact that she was holding his hand. Well, not much.

Bolting up the stairs with speed Heero didn't even know she possessed, it was just a matter of seconds before she turned left into a room, taking Heero with her the whole way.

She slowed down when they reached the center of the room, and then just as quickly let go of his hand and went through an adjacent door.

Confused with the turn of events, he took Relena's absence as an opportunity to look at his surroundings.

It was a big room, and it didn't take to be a genius to understand that this was the house's master bedroom, in other words Relena's room. There was a big canopy bed next to the south wall, a maple-wood desk, some drawers, and a pair of love-seats. And though it was dark, he thought the carpet to be a wine-reddish color, and the bed's covers were a light, cream color. An object on top of her comforter caught his eye. A teddy bear. The bear he had given Relena on her birthday two years ago.

So…she had kept it.

A once-in-a-lifetime-event occurred as a soft smile appeared on his lips, but it only lasted a few seconds.

He wondered just what exactly he was doing inside Relena's bedroom, unsupervised, when the aforementioned hostess came through the door (which he thought to be the bathroom) she had first entered.

He barely had time to notice she was carrying something in her hands before complete darkness clouded his eyes; a soft cotton-like material was hauled up in his head, and he started feeling quick massage-like moves on his scalp.

With experienced hands (after all she did have really long hair) Relena began drying Heero's wet head, praying he hadn't noticed she had taken an awfully long time just for getting a towel; it would be embarrassing if Heero learned she had had to search through her entire towel basket in order to find a towel that wasn't either pink, peach or lilac. Finally she had found and old, dark green towel. Thank God Duo came to visit often.

"God Heero, what were you thinking!" she asked with a frustrated voice.

"Just how much time did you spend in the rain?"

"Hn, about 3 hours" he deadpanned, his voice a little muffled by the towel.

Relena's mouth formed a perfect o shape, "Heero, are you crazy or what? You could've gotten sick!"

Heero grinned a little at Relena's characteristic concern. She had always been such a caring person.

"I don't get sick" he said with a monotone.

The towel off his head, he watched in amusement as Relena rolled her eyes and sighed. She was going to have none of it.

Five minutes later Heero wondered just how he had managed to let Relena push him into taking a hot shower.

_Oh yeah, she has a weird control over me, almost forgot, _he thought with bitterness. Abruptly, Relena's image appeared in his mind, taunting him, reminding him that she _was _out there, a few steps from him, out the door.

Knowing what would happen if he kept having this kind of thoughts he quickly turned the knob all the way from _hot _to _cold. _

Hot water wasn't good for him anyway, it gave him dandruff.

_Yeah right._

AN: Ok everyone this was chapter four. I tried to make it a bit longer than the others, but I'm not sure if I succeeded. I'm very very pleased with the reviews I've recieved so far. I looks like it's not THAT bad as people find it interesting. So, I'll do my best to please everyone. Thank you Cassie Yuy, Inda, LucreziaNoin86, zidetprincess1,wolfgurl24, Malcolm Yuy, Morrighan of Crimson and Sable, everyone, for reviewing. As this is my first story it's very important for me to know if I have a future at good writing or not. Thanks and enjoy.


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters, but I enjoy using them for my own evil purposes. Like writing fan fiction for example. Ok just kidding, get on with it. I don't own anything. Nothing. Nada. Absolutamente nada.

Chapter 5

Relena sat at the edge of her bed; she had just come back from putting Heero's clothes on the washing machine. Nonchalantly she looked towards her bathroom; she could see a light from underneath the door and the sound of water running reached her ears. Heero was still taking a shower.

It was then that it really hit her. **Heero Yuy** was _really _there. In her bathroom. In her house. Back in her life; though for how long, she didn't know.

It didn't matter at the moment anyway.

She was overwhelmed by the knowledge that all that had happened in the past half-hour had not been a dream. All throughout it she had been in a sort-of trance, so she hadn't really paid attention to her feelings.

Now that everything had calmed down and her mind was able to think she felt tired; overwhelmed by the fact that he was actually back.

Thousands of questions ran around her mind at the moment, but out of all of them, a single question stood out: Why?

Why was he back?

She really couldn't think of a good enough reason for his sudden return. If you thought about it they really didn't know each other very well. They had just met several times during the wars and he had "rescued" her from Mariemaia. I mean, why exactly would he come to see her?

She wasn't the Vice Foreign Minister anymore, so if there was the chance of a revolt or war she wouldn't be able to do anything to help. The Gundam Pilots didn't have a use for her anymore. He didn't have to protect her either, as he had promised he would two years ago. And it seemed too much of a coincidence for him to have suddenly found her house, in the middle of a storm no less, for it to be an accident.

_Maybe he did it to get out of the rain,_ she wondered, but quickly dismissed the idea. Heero Yuy was never one to run away from things like rain. He had proved it to her by stubbornly refusing to take a bath; still, no one was more stubborn than herself.

In a part of her wistful brain appeared the idea that maybe he had come to _just _see her, but she quickly dismissed it, refusing to let hope take hold of her tired heart. It would just hurt her more.

She looked around her room, looking for something that would distract her mind from sad thoughts.

_Wait a minute, where is Zero? _she thought, remembering about her loyal companion. She hadn't seen him since she had gone downstairs to find her "intruder". She looked around the room, wondering where a 3 months-old kitten could disappear to.

Her mind reminded her of how Hilde's last "spontaneous" visit had gotten Zero to hide under her bed in shyness. So Relena scrolled across her bed to the edge, holding onto the bed's posts, securing herself from falling head-first into the floor. She lifted the bed's covers from the floor and peeked underneath her bed's mattress.

And sure enough, from between the darkness a pair of big green eyes blinked back at her. Relena smiled at her discovery; glad her kitty wasn't lost.

Now all she had to do was get him out of his hiding place. This could take a while. But, as was mentioned before, she was stubborn. And persistent.

"Hey there little Zero, come here baby, come with your mommy" she cooed, her voice so sweet and alluring that she could have gotten a Tiger to purr. Zero however, looked very comfortable in his spot; and he was known to be as stubborn as his "mom". The mom however, was not giving up so easily.

"Oh come on Zero, come here little one" she even flashed him a smile. But Zero didn't move.

"Come on, you know you want to". Blinking eyes were her only response.

Giving a frustrated sigh she decided to use her last resort. She took out one of her dangling earrings (a gift from her late mother) off her ear and started to swing it in the air in front of the green eyes.

Zero blinked and started taking awkward steps in her direction, while she continued swinging her earring, half her body over the bed.

It was like this that Heero found her, except that the first thing that his brain registered was the nice, round butt hovering over the bed.

He fought the sudden urge to run back into another cold shower.

Forcing his eyes to skip the jean-clad butt, he tried to see what exactly she was doing. Half her body, up to her chest, was resting on the bed, while her head and arms were…leaning over the carpet it seemed.

He suspected she was trying to get something from under the bed; what he didn't get was why was she talking and whispering, alone.

He was ripped out of his thoughts at Relena's enthusiastic "Gothcha!"

"Uh, Relena, what are you doing?"

Startled by Heero's deep voice, Relena's cheeks were tinted a light pink at the embarrassment of being found in _that _awkward position, and she lifted her head to look at him.

"Uh…Zero wouldn't come out" she said, embarrassment evident in her voice.

_Zero? _Heero's mind screamed in confusion. As in his gundam? As in the zero system?

_Just who the hell was Zero!_

He got his answer when Relena's body righted itself, coming up with a dark bundle in her arms, a pair of big green eyes looking timidly back at him.

Noticing his gaze, Relena decided to explain, "Duo gave it to me a few weeks ago, to keep me company".

Though Heero knew Duo was very much in love with his girlfriend Hilde, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Duo.

Ok, very jealous.

He knew Duo was best friends with Relena, and that he saw her as a sister, but still, Heero couldn't help but feel envy to Duo's close relationship with Relena. He knew he shouldn't, after all he also kind-of considered Duo his best friend.

But he just couldn't help it.

"Why Zero?" he asked in his typical monotone.

"His eyes" she stated in a calm voice, "they're green, just like…" she trailed off, not wanting to open an old wound. She didn't need to say it anyway, it was kind of obvious.

"…Just like Gundam Zero's eyes" his voice held a tint of pain, but it was barely noticeable.

"Mhmm, Duo wanted to name it Deathscythe, but it was too long" she said fondly, chuckling at the memory of Duo, pouting because she wouldn't name it like his late gundam.

"Zero fits him better anyway" Relena said, smiling at her cat, and warming Heero's chest.

She looked at Heero then, and noticed he was wearing the clothes she had given him to change into.

"I see they fit" she said, gesturing with her chin towards his body.

He looked at himself, and remembered the question that had been nagging at his mind ever since he had seen the masculine clothes; especially after they had fit so well.

Relena saw Heero frown at the clothes he wore; gray cotton sweat pants and a large white t-shirt, and she chuckled, knowing exactly what was going on in Heero's head.

Heero looked up in question from the offending clothes when he heard Relena's chuckle.

"Duo insisted the clothes stayed here, what with him and Hilde coming here so often and him being so distracted".

The pilot of 01 felt quite stupid, he should have known better. Still, the pang of jealousy hit again. Duo came to sleep over at Relena's house? Often? This was just too much.

Relena chuckled, once more guessing what was going on at the pilot's mind, "Duo and Hilde are attached at the hip; wherever Hilde goes, Duo is there too, so that's why there's a guest room in this house specifically for Duo".

"Hn"

After that, a weird silence was set upon them. Heero looked at the princess in front of him; thought at that moment she looked more like a ghostly angel.

The moonlight hitting her hair made it look like Relena had a white halo around her head, and she had rotated her body enough so that the light coming from the window wasn't exactly behind her, but flooding her face and body with light and giving her an ethereal look.

Instead of their natural sky blue, her eyes appeared like sapphires under the moonlight. Her smooth skin glowed and her round lips reflected the light with the moistness they held.

Mesmerized with how impossibly beautiful she looked, he was ripped out of his reverie by Relena's voice, which sounded slow and smooth, when actually she was very nervous.

"Why are you here Heero?"

Heero's heart pounded loudly in his chest. He had been expecting that question all night, but it didn't make it any easier when the moment of truth actually came.

He diverted his face to look at her bed, her carpet, her cat, anywhere but those inquiring, sapphire eyes.

Relena saw Heero squirming and was surprised when she realized that the Perfect Soldier didn't know what to say. What made Heero nervous? What had he really come for?

While Relena wondered, Heero had finally summed up the courage to answer Relena's question honestly.

"I-I came here to…" he gave a nervous sigh he hoped she took as frustration.

"I came here to see you".

This time he looked directly into Relena's eyes.

Relena took an intake of air after Heero's declaration, her eyes widening at his words, and her heart beating so loudly she thought it would jump out of her chest, hope fueling it.

But life's hard experiences had made her a pessimist, and she convinced her heart to stop pinning for a love that she would never be given.

There had to be a reasonable, non-romantic explanation behind Heero's words.

It occurred to her then, that maybe he still saw her as the Vice Foreign Minister and wanted something out of her from her late position. Highly unlikely, but it was the first thing that came to her mind.

"I'm not the Vice Foreign Minister anymore Heero" she said in a monotone, unconsciously clutching harder the kitten sitting in her arms.

Heero raised an eyebrow at her reply.

As she said this another idea came to her mind, filling her heart with anger and, strangely, feeling betrayed.

He wanted to take her back to her job.

That had to be the reason.

She frowned, anger apparent in her expression.

So that was why he had come, he still saw her as a peace beacon, a stupid symbol to the world.

He came to convince her to return to her job, to have her strain herself again for a selfish world that saw her as nothing than a symbol, an object to be admired.

Well, there was no way in hell that she was going back. Not even Heero Yuy was going to make her go. Not even if he threatened her. She cursed herself for leaving the gun downstairs. But still, with or without gun, she wasn't going to step back.

"I'm not the Vice Minister anymore, and you can't make me take the job again Heero" she said, anger and hate dripping from every word.

Heero was certainly surprised. If there was a reaction he had been expecting, it definitely hadn't been that. Hugging and kissing he had secretly hoped for, a blush in her cheeks he wouldn't have minded, hell even rejection had been in his list of expected reactions.

But he hadn't imagined Relena getting angry and believing he would command her to work herself out again.

It would have even been amusing hadn't Relena been fuming at him. Hell, even the cat seemed to be glaring at him.

"I didn't come to take you back" Heero contradicted her, eager on bringing Relena into the light of the situation. "Actually, I'm glad you resigned".

The anger left her body, surprise stepping into its place, along with the always-present confusion. If he hadn't come to take her back, then why did he want to see her?

"Then…then what did you come to see me for?" she asked, her voice smaller and calmer than before.

"I'm…I'm not sure" Heero said, his voice filled with rare emotion.

"I- I guess I came to find out why".

Relena blinked at that.

Heero needed her, he needed her help.

Relena smirked.

This was going to get interesting.

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AN: Ok that was chapter 5. I really hoped you liked it. I tried to make it longer, though I'm not sure if I succeeded. I'm very sorry for not updating as soon as I promised I would, but a lot of things happened. Besides, I'm on finals, I got sick and there's a constant war going on between my brother and me for the ownership of the computer. But now that vacations are coming I'll be able to finish posting this story and I may even start posting the other stories I've been working on.

I really appreciate the people who have reviewed my story. You're all really nice and supportive.

**Sonkist: **lol yeah I'm probably crazy. Don't worry you're not the only one who thinks that; but I promise I'm harmless. Except if you're a cockroach, which I doubt hehe. Mmmmm…mutual friends telling their stories. I hadn't thought of that, but now that you mention it…it could be described like that. I hope that isn't a bad thing.

**Hieiashke: **hahaha lol Heero smothered in pink towels…I would pay to see that. I'm glad you thought my chappie was nice, makes me wanna be better. And I'll do my best to make more chappies you'll like.

**CrimsonDragon010: **wow, and here I thought they couldn't get more OOC. So glad you think they're perfect, it makes my day brighter. And I'm not just talking mush in here. I'm serious.


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters. No surprise in that. However, I think I can safely say that I do own Zero. Yaayy. Zero is mine! Oh, but not Zero the machine. You know, that huge, mass destruction gundam. No. I'm talking about the cat here folks. Hmph, me owning Gundam Zero, ha-ha, yeah right, that'll be the day. Oh well, on with the story.

Chapter 6

Heero Yuy was looking at the guest room's ceiling, lying under the covers of the bed. He had stayed like that for at least an hour. Just thinking. It was all he seemed to be able to do.

He was such a coward.

He had told Relena he didn't know why he was here. An utter lie. He knew exactly why he was where he was.

He had finally admitted his feelings to himself about her that night; it was just stupid and futile to keep telling himself that he wasn't in love with her. It was plain obvious, at least to himself.

And despite everything, she had completely believed him. It amazed him to know the extent of Relena's trust in him, and he wasn't going to risk betraying that trust.

Relena had told him, with a dashing smile, that she would be very glad to help him sort himself out. He had been a little lost there; not exactly comprehending why she had the idea he needed help.

She had yawned at that moment and Heero decided she had had too much for the night.

He had told her it would be better if she started to "help" him the next morning, stating that both of them were tired.

She had complied, if only after Heero had stubbornly insisted that she WAS tired and that both of them could use the sleep. She had leaded him into the guest room, showing him the bed and explaining she would be a few doors from his in case he needed anything. She had bided him goodnight then, after an awkward silence.

Heero turned towards the window at his left side. It was still raining, though it was just a gentle shower now.

He didn't know why, but the rain suddenly reminded him of past days. Hard days. He remembered his training days with Doctor J., often exercising under heavy rain for hours and hours, never weakening his training because of the weather inconveniences. After all, war wouldn't stop because of rain. And he would have to fight just as hard.

And he did.

And he remembered every battle he had had to endure. Never giving up. Always beating his adversary. And at the end, everything had turned out fine. He had survived, his companions had survived. Humanity had survived. And, most importantly, Relena had survived, thus giving his off-tracked life a new purpose.

To protect peace. To protect her.

He had found in Relena a way of protecting what he had worked so hard for. She was peace. She was the only one capable of bringing peace. So, he had proposed himself to protect Relena, and, in the act, protect humanity.

That had been the excuse he had given himself for the strange obsession he had started to develop for the golden-haired princess. That he had to protect her in order for peace to exist.

And he had. He had come in her aid once more when she had been kidnapped during the Mariemaia incident. Everything had righted itself once more after that.

And thus peace had progressed, growing and steadying itself with each passing day. But unlike its protectee, Relena in turn had decayed. Straining herself to her job and the world in a curiously lonely state; Relena's beautiful and cheerful personality had turned into a lonely and sad one, faking dazzling smiles to the camera, just for the sake of the people.

And while all of this happened he had been observing, guarding her from the shadows, watching as she grew even more apart from the happiness she had once known and, strangely, feeling his obsession for her increase. There had been a point where he had been so hooked with Relena that he had had to escape, to run far away from her, knowing that if he stayed so close to the princess he would soon lose his mind and reveal himself. That's when he ran to the colonies.

Jerking his head away from the window Heero looked once more to the ceiling.

_Follow your emotions. _

That had been the last thing Odin had told him. To follow his emotions. He had followed that advice in many occasions, but had completely ignored it many other times. For example, it had been his emotions that had brought him back to Earth, ending here on Relena's Victorian house, just a few doors away from her. He had been following them.

But he had ignored those emotions throughout all the night, continuously trying to lock them deep inside of him.

Heero's face dropped. He was sure Odin wouldn't be feeling very proud of him at the moment. Not that he cared but-

Somehow he felt as if that particular piece of advice had been given to him to use on situations like this one. Damn that old man. A dozen or so years later and he still haunted Heero.

Grunting, he changed his mind to a new course of action. Tomorrow, his emotions would lead him. He would leave everything up to them. He would trust in them.

He just hoped his emotions wouldn't be rejected.

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Heero's blue eyes jerked open, his internal clock waking him up. White light filtered through the window, making the room look clear and whitish. The sun still hadn't been able to make its presence noticed, the rain from the day before had made sure of it. Now it was all foggy and misty, like yesterday, but without the rain.

Heero stood up from the bed, his eyes completely devoid of any emotion as he did so.

His gaze caught his own reflection as he turned towards a mirror that stood over a dark-wood desk. His hair looked messier than ever, which was weird, as he had slept little during the night, and there were bangs under his eyes, again this being due to the lack of sleep.

He decided a shower was the best course of action at the moment; for some weird reason he wanted to look presentable for Relena.

His brows furrowed, first he came all over from the colonies to Earth just to see Relena, and now he was caring about his physical appearance. What the hell was wrong with him!

Sighing in frustration and annoyance at himself, he stepped into the bathroom and undressed himself. He turned the shower's knobs and braced himself for the cold water's hit.

A white towel around his waist, Heero Yuy stepped back into the room, condensation fog dissipating into it. Now all he had to do was find some clothes he could use. If not he would be forced to walk in Duo's pajamas for the rest of the day. Or at least until his own clothes dried.

Really hoping Duo had left some clothes from his last visit Heero opened one of the closet's drawers. _Bingo._ There, at the drawer's bottom, stood a pair of blue jeans and a plain black t-shirt. No surprise there. After all, it was Duo. And Duo loved black. And even though Heero preferred green, black was a close second.

Wasting no time, Heero put on the black shirt and comfortable jeans after drying himself, doing his best to look nice for Relena. Even getting as far as trying to comb his hair. No such luck of course.

As soon as he stepped out of the room a delicious aroma that he couldn't quite identify reached his nostrils. He had never smelled something like that and, consequently, he was quite intrigued.

Heero walked down the hallway with swift steps, his socks making no sound on the smooth carpet. He reached the stairs and started his way down, the unknown aroma intensifying with every step.

The morning had flooded the house with light, and for the first time he really noticed what it held. The living room where he had hided the night before had a welcoming atmosphere, with nice sofas and a charming stoned fireplace.

Well actually, now that he noticed, the whole house seemed to display a…cozy feeling. The house was elegant in its own way; stone, wood and carpet where everywhere, giving it a sophisticated look, but it was also filled with decorated rugs, long window drapes (and boy did it have many windows) simple lamps, and love-seats that just seemed to beckon you to sit on them. Colored glass jars and random objects were placed strategically throughout the rooms, and framed pictures covered the walls and smooth surfaces. All in all, the house supported the whole _Welcome Home_ sentiment.

That must have been one of the reasons why Duo and Hilde visited so much. Everything looked so cozy.

Heero decided he liked it. Very much in fact.

Apart from the battles, he had never been somewhere where he hadn't felt out of place. Throughout his life he had visited many places and experienced so many situations, and in not one of them, except for the battles, had he felt like he belonged. Until now. For some reason he felt welcomed here. Like he could breathe freely, and no one would care.

_Whoa whoa, hold your horses there Yuy. Don't even think of going into that topic. _Heero frowned, cursing himself for having thoughts like those. Home. Belonging. He had not even been there for a day and already he wanted to stay.

He inwardly sighed. It couldn't be really helped. There was just something about the house's atmosphere that smiled at him.

A clanking noise caught his attention. He gulped. That ought to be Relena.

Heero cocked his head to the side and looked through a hallway that seemed to connect the living room with what ought to be the kitchen. The aroma seemed to come from there.

Heero peeked at the kitchen and, sure enough, there was his princess doing god knows what near the stove.

Relena was an early riser, a habit she had kept from her job as Vice Foreign Minister. She had woken with a witty smile that morning, excited about the turn her dull life had taken the night before.

Of course it wasn't a fairytale. Heero had come because he had problems. He needed help, which she would be very glad to give. He hadn't come because of his undying love for her, but hey, at least he was there. And that was what counted. That the man that had stolen her heart was back to her life, and maybe, if she played her cards right, he would return it to her.

Already her old resolve was returning. She felt cheerful and giddy again. Amazing what a single man could do. Though of course Heero Yuy wasn't an ordinary man.

And that's what she loved about him.

With a smirk on her face Relena continued working on the delicious breakfast she was making. She hoped Heero liked it. She was determined to let people know that she wasn't as inutile as they thought. Wufei had once said that she couldn't cook. It had pissed her off. Where had he gotten that idea she didn't know. Maybe he had said that to tease her. It didn't matter much anyway; in truth she was an excellent cook.

Duo was the living proof of that.

A sudden knock on the kitchen's swinging door made her jump, almost dropping the spatula she was carrying in the process. She turned to see who her guest was, though in her mind she knew perfectly well who it was.

Relena turned to look at him when he knocked, her smooth golden tresses flying with the movement.

"Good morning Heero" she said, flashing him a charming smile and melting him with the way she pronounced his name.

Heero took a good look at her. And took a big gulp of air.

He had thought no creature could possibly be more beautiful than the one he had seen the night before. He was wrong. With the light flooding through the windows behind the sink she practically glowed. He could clearly see her, all of her. With smooth peachy skin, gorgeous sky blue eyes and full rosy lips that just beckoned him to get closer.

She was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and lavender sweater, but what caught his attention was the white apron she was wearing. Never before had he seen her wearing one. She looked…adorable.

Heero found himself wishing she had bought instead of a plain white one, one of those aprons with the words _Kiss the Cook_ printed on them. Maybe he would anyway. But those thoughts fell on a stubborn mind.

Instead he found himself giving a plain "Morning". It seemed to suit Relena just fine, because she turned and continued happily working on the stove.

The aroma he had smelled before was dominant in the kitchen.

"What are you doing?"

Turning her head halfway she gave him a can't-you-tell-? - look. She restrained herself from saying something along those lines though, and with a little smile proudly stated, "I'm making breakfast".

This earned a bewildered look from Heero. Relena could cook?

"You do are hungry, right?" she asked, her mind praying that he WAS hungry. She would feel really stupid if he wasn't.

"Hn" was her answer.

It earned a smile from her anyway. She seemed to be very smiley and cheery this morning.

"Good, I figured you were hungry. I'm sorry I didn't give you anything last night. I just kind of forgot" Relena said with a sheepish smile, embarrassed by her irresponsible attitude.

His mouth turned upwards a little. Always thinking of others before herself. That was Relena all right. "It's okay"

"Good, because breakfast's ready" Relena said, her back to Heero. Happy because he had arrived just in time for the food.

"Hn, what did you make?" now Heero wanted very badly to know what his princess had cooked.

"Pancakes, my favorites" Relena stated while placing a plate full of delicious, steaming pancakes in the middle of the table.

This earned a raised eyebrow from the former pilot. He stared at the pancakes with curiosity. After a minute of Heero staring at the pancakes Relena got worried and with a disappointed tone asked, "What, you don't like pancakes Heero?"

He looked at the pancake-filled plate in front of him, a silent debate at full swing inside of him.

"I…I've never eaten them before" Heero said, turning his head down so she couldn't see the slight embarrassment he felt.

At the unexpected declaration Relena's eyes grew wide, disbelief and surprise shining in them. There was a flicker of pity in there too. But all those emotions where washed away as complete comprehension settled in.

Trained to become the deathliest weapon in existence, he had had no time to experience some of life's simple pleasures, such as pancakes.

A small, nostalgic smile appeared on her rosy lips. She hadn't been much different in that sense if you thought about it; she too had been deprived of a great deal of her childhood and adolescence. Well, she would be honored to be the one to introduce Heero to such simple pleasures. Like pancakes for example.

"Well, what are you waiting for then" she said, her eyes merry and a soft grin forming on her face.

Heero gazed into Relena's cerulean depths, bewilderment hidden in his own. She didn't seem to care about his lack of "experience" with food.

He looked at the plate in front of him again. _She does have a point though_, he thought. _And I guess it HAS been a while since I last ate. _

Following Relena's lead, he squished the plastic bottle Relena had passed him and Maple syrup was spilled all over his pancakes.

Using his knife and fork with cool determination, he cut the pancakes into perfect, equal sized squares while Relena watched him in amusement.

He then pinched a square that looked inviting and into his mouth it went. He munched slowly, so as to enjoy the taste for a longer time. Heero gulped with ease, and before he knew it, his arm was already stretching for another square.

Damn Relena, now he would never want to leave.

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AN: That, my dear friends, was chapter 6. Wow, I'm already on Chapter 6…awesome. I hope it wasn't too OOC. Especially with the pancakes. As you can probably guess, I wrote this in the morning. On a Sunday morning, to be specific. And yes, my dear mother was making pancakes while I was writing this. So if you want to blame someone then blame my mother and her delicious breakfast.

To all the lovely people who reviewed, thank you very much. It is much appreciated. Oh, and I just wanted to say that chapter 7 _may _take a while. You see, I didn't like very much how that particular chapter turned out and so I decided to redo it. But don't worry, it's beingmade as you read. Until then, take care everyone!

**Terra: **You're right, people most often make Heero look as a machine. Wow, you think I got into his persona? I'm feeling VERY proud right now. Thanks.

**Pureevil230: **Yeah, I think Zero is cute too. Ha-ha, and yes, Heero is a bit jealous of Duo, but in a good way…I guess.

**Dark-Light39: **Wow, you like my writing! Thank you thank you thank you! You just increased my self-esteem hehe.


	7. Chapter 7

No, I do not own Gundam Wing (sigh), just how many times most I repeat myself?

**Chapter 7**

She figured Heero still had issues with himself, and so decided she should leave him be for awhile before asking the questions that had been pestering her since his appearance the night before.

And though she was eager to unfold her curiosity, she kept it to herself; caging the innumerable questions inside her mind. After all, she could wait. It was enough that he was there. More than enough.

And so, content with herself for the first time in months, she sought out to finish cleaning the dishes.

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Heero was seated in a very comfortable sofa in the living room, in front of the TV plasma screen, which, strangely, he hadn't noticed until Relena had suggested he entertained himself, specifically with the TV.

He hadn't noticed the big TV in one of the walls of the living room. He wondered how that had happened. He was supposed to notice everything.

Heero sighed in frustration, resigning himself to enjoy the 2000 channels of cable while Relena cleaned the dishes in the kitchen. He had offered to help, not wanting to abuse of her hospitality, but Relena just wouldn't budge when she had her mind set on something.

A grin formed on his lips at the thought of the princess. She was steely and determined, yet she was caring and kind. It amazed him how she cared about him, when she should be repulsed. He had done so much harm to her during the time they had known each other, and yet she welcomed and took care of him. He didn't deserve her kindness.

If anything she should never see him again; she deserved much better. But, not seeing her again would certainly kill what was left of his soul. He wouldn't be able to handle it. He was weak.

But, if being weak meant he could see her then he wanted to be weak.

Movement and slight noise caught his attention, disrupting him from his musings. He searched for the origin of the noise, and Heero found himself staring into the green eyes of Relena's pet cat.

The dark-furred kitten looked up towards him from the sofa's edge, as if expecting something from him.

Maybe he was hungry. Unfortunately Heero didn't have any food on him at the moment and so, did what he thought was the next best thing to feeding the kitty. With ease and carefulness so as not to scare the little guy, Heero gently picked the kitty up from the floor, setting it next to him on the sofa.

Heero had liked animals since he had been an 'assassin-in-process', a little boy in other words. He had found out that animals wouldn't judge him and that he could trust them, so, consequently, animals had been the only light in his childhood. Or what one could call a childhood.

True, he preferred dogs to cats; possibly because strays had been abundant on his home-colony. But still, he didn't mind cats. And this particular one, though small, appeared to be keen and intelligent.

Heero Yuy gently patted its head, and a tiny smile appeared on his lips when Zero started to emit small purring sounds in response. This was definitely better than watching TV.

"Cute isn't he?"

Had Heero been a normal person he would have jumped at that moment. Fortunately he wasn't. Instead he remained calm, and with a stoic expression on his face he slowly turned around to face the source of the voice, all while trying to calm down his hammering heart.

There stood Relena behind him, arms resting upon the sofa's backrest, smiling up at him as if she just hadn't scared him.

"Hn, he's nice" he said with a monotone voice.

She didn't reply to that, just smiled and jumped over the couch, settling herself on it at his side. The cat immediately disentangled himself off Heero's hands and scurried over to his owner. His purrs were so loud Heero was sure they could be heard throughout the entire house.

"Oh come on, you act as if you had never received attention in your life" Relena said, commenting on her kitten's overacted purring, "You're a shame to kittens all over the world"

Heero couldn't help but grin. It was nice to see Relena like this, without having the pressures of her job weighing down on her carefree personality. And it had been such a long time since he had seen her like this; there had been times when she had acted like this around him, happy and carefree, but they had been few and in-between, for the wars and the world's peace had soon demanded her immediate attention, and then it hadn't been long before only her complete dedication would do.

Feeling his lingering stare, Relena looked up, catching his blue eyes in a gaze as she did so. He didn't retract his gaze, and Relena looked away when it became too much for her. She smiled shyly at his undivided attention for her, a hint of pink dotting her smooth cheeks.

Heero openly smirked in turn, feeling a curious sense of masculine pride at her reaction to his flirting.

His mind had been made up and it would not back up, he would make his move. Luck didn't seem to be on his side though, for before he could as much as close the gap between them a loud noise disrupted their silence, making Relena jump slightly in surprise.

Heero automatically reached for the gun that he carried at all times, before he realized with an annoyed grunt that it was just the TV.

Apparently a movie had just started, and Relena snuggled comfortably against the couch when she read the title. _The Matrix_, a very old movie, centuries old even, but it was a classic nonetheless. Relena smiled, she had been meaning to see the movie complete, she had always been too busy to see it all, and so she was happy for the opportunity.

Aware to Relena's obvious desire to watch the movie, Heero had no choice but to stay put and watch it with her. Patiently waiting for the right moment to make his move and bring his better-half into the light of the situation.

She had enjoyed the first movie immensely, he could tell. The movie's action and suspense had kept her on her tiptoes the entire time, and he had to admit it had been amusing to watch Relena get so riled up when things would not go like she wanted them to. She would scream at the characters to run when it was evident the bad guy was about to strike and would roll her eyes when the situation would get too mushy. In the end he had found Relena's antics more entertaining than the movie, which he had already seen many times before. It happened to have been Doctor J's favorite. Along with a Chinese movie in which people would fly and do inhuman moves during excellently choreographed swordfights.

It turned out that the channel was running a Matrix movie marathon. Relena had been ecstatic, Heero had hardly blinked.

She was satisfied, expectant and excited by the time the second Matrix movie started rolling. It had started good enough, Relena had been happy to see the same characters appear in the sequel and he had marveled at how well she had managed to understand the movie's complex universe. The atmosphere had turned heavier and tenser when a rather-explicit sexual situation had unfolded between the two main characters; sweaty, sexy dancing and passionate scenes had abruptly filled the big plasma screen. Relena had wisely chosen that moment to go make popcorn in the kitchen, assuring him that she wouldn't be long. Heero had thanked the heavens at that moment, knowing he wouldn't be able to control himself any longer if his mind kept stubbornly picturing himself and Relena in the hero's and heroine's respective places. During that scene.

Strangely coincidentally, Relena had returned with a bowl full of popcorn the moment that particular scene had ended, settling herself in the couch again. She had seated a few inches closer to him than before, Heero had noted with a smirk.

By the time the movie had ended Relena looked weary, tired and unfocused. Her body had shaken with more than a few yawns during the between-movie-commercials, and the popcorn had been left forgotten at Heero's side. Little Zero had long-ago fallen asleep over a nice-looking cushion.

Heero had long ago stopped paying attention to the Television, completely immersed in his thoughts and Relena's antics to go along with the movie line.

Something warm fell on his shoulders, and Heero almost jumped before he realized that the warm weight was actually Relena. His eyes softened and his heart started hammering, she had finally lost the battle over sleep, and gravity had weighed her body down until her head had hit Heero's shoulder.

He watched her chest's slow low and rise, her body immersed in the deep peaceful breathing that came with sleep. Her lips were partially opened in a relaxed state and her arms hung limply at her sides.

If he could, Heero would have glared at his heart, which, to Heero's utter annoyance, hadn't slowed down its excited beat since her head had made contact with his body. She seemed uncomfortable though, and he ached to accommodate her position.

His throat gone dry, he tried to gulp in order to settle down his nerves. Slowly and as gentle as possible so as not to wake her, he slid the arm she was partially resting on behind her, making the upper part of her body slide further across his chest. His alarms perked up instantly.

He closed and opened his eyes, wakening his senses to their maximum, this required his full concentration. Carefully observing the position he was currently in and what he could do to solve the situation, he noted that he would have to pull her closer to him if wanted her to be comfortable. He moved his arm and gently closed it around her waist, his mind marveling at just how small and smooth her waist was. Slowly he pulled her body closer, finally coming to rest it against his bigger chest.

Unconsciously perceiving the more comfortable position it had been moved to, Relena's small body snuggled further into him, gaining a nervous intake of air from the former pilot. He counted to ten in his mind, finally musing up the courage to drop his arm around her shoulders, transforming their position into a relaxed embrace.

To his relief she didn't wake up and he was finally able to relax and enjoy the feeling of finally having his princess in his arms. It felt so good to be able to hold her, and he realized he had never felt like this before. He felt wonderful and special, to be able to hold her like this in his arms, to hold the fragile weight in the safe circle of his arms. He knew she couldn't be safer at that moment, because even though he didn't completely trust himself with something so precious, he knew without doubt that he would never harm her in any way. He had done enough of that, and frankly, he was tired of running away. He had done that for enough time, and had gained nothing from it, except for nightmares and lonely grief. He planned on staying, even if she refused. He wouldn't have a no for an answer. He didn't hope for one of course.

Heero looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms. He knew that he would never let anyone or anything harm her; she was his and only his to protect. It had always been like that.

He looked towards the window. It looked dark outside, though it still was early in the afternoon. The pitter pat of the rain against the window had started a while ago, and now it had gotten only stronger. Strangely, Heero found the presence of the rain an oddly comforting one. Here he was, sitting in a comfortable couch inside of a big, silent Victorian house surrounded by the veil of the rain, holding a princess in his arms. He was just missing the hot chocolate.

A contented smirk slowly made its way unto his lips as he blindly watched the rain outside the window. He could definitely spend the rest of his days like this, letting the afternoons pass by in silent contempt, holding his princess close.

He turned to look back at his charge, only to find a pair of blue eyes looking back at him. He didn't move a muscle, but his heart was racing a mile a minute. He didn't move his eyes away from hers though, and held them in a daring gaze. She had such beautiful eyes that they left him slightly breathless. They were the purest tone of cyan, like the sky itself, but here and there you could find traces of green, which, mixed with the predominant blue formed hints of turquoise and aqua. They were the loveliest eyes he had ever seen, and he knew that it would be impossible to find another pair that could match hers. There was tangible emotion burning in those eyes at the moment. Confusion was predominant, anger was there too, disbelief and bewilderment, a minuscule hint of fear, gratefulness too, but there was also, strangely, hope, and something else…something that he couldn't exactly pinpoint, but it was there, and her eyes glinted with that emotion. It was an emotion that he had seen in various occasions when he had met her.

He had been caught, he knew that. He had been caught like a little boy with his hands on the cake got caught by his mother. Of course, nobody liked to be caught, but deep inside his stoic persona there was a part that was screaming in excitement at being caught, eager to see how he would deal with this new situation.

Minutes ticked by as they continued to stare into each other's eyes, neither of them gathering enough courage to disrupt the awkward yet comfortable silence they had settled in, and inHeero's case, not really wanting to.

She however, was desperate to know why exactly was _Heero Yuy_ holding _her_ in such an intimate and possessive way. Her heart was beating like crazy in excitement, urgently whispering to her that this was what she had been waiting for, that her wildest dreams were actually coming true. Sadly, the pessimism of life still had a tight grip on her, reminding her that this was too good to be true, and that there had to be a catch, a logical non-romantic reason for his uncharacteristic behavior.

Her light brown brows were furrowed in anger, never a good sign. "You said you didn't want to take me back. That your visit had nothing to do with my former job"

Heero nodded a little hesitantly, not really sure of where this conversation was going, or from where it was coming either.

"Don't lie to me Heero. What is the real reason of your visit?" she was angry, almost fuming, but his hold still didn't weaken.

Heero's left eyebrow rose up at her question and present attitude. Vice Foreign Minister, real reasons, lies…Where did she get this stuff?

"Are you really that dense?" he asked in his deep voice, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Wha—" Relena stopped in mid-sentence the moment Heero's forehead touched hers, trembling at his proximity. His warm breath on her face was simply too much for her. She was awfully aware of his strong hands at her back and waist, pulling her closer to him. She was sure her heart would burst out of her chest any second now.

Her lips parted as she murmured something inaudible. His eyes darkened with an emotion that was unknown to her, yet they were serious.

"Have you really not noticed?" he whispered, his lips a breath away from hers, his eyes barely open.

"Heero…" it was all she was able to whisper before his lips gently crashed against hers. A wave of heated electricity instantly rushed through her body and her mind went completely blank, not really believing what was happening. That Heero Yuy was actually kissing her.

He felt her draw in a sharp breath, and for a mere second he feared that she would reject him. Then she kissed him back, slowly and gently, innocently pressing her lips harder against him. His chest felt unusually warm, and white hot heat surged through his body, awakening some primal instincts that had been dormant until now. He did his best to tone down those instincts; this was not the time to think about that.

He broke the kiss slowly, missing the feel of her lips the moment he did so. He could feel her ragged breath on his face, making himache formore. Her eyes, which looked as glinting sapphires in the darkness, bore into his dark blue ones.

"But, you said that you came here for help" Relena whispered, almost against his lips, not wanting to ruin the moment.

A teasing smirk placed itself upon his lips, "I said that I'd come here to see you, you assumed that I needed help"

Relena suddenly felt quite stupid, making wrong assumptions and complicating all the matter. But, as she realized exactly where she was, in Heero's arms, she found it difficult to be mad at herself for long.

"So you…" she started, feeling a deep blush creep into her cheeks.

"I meant it when I said I came here to see you" his voice sounded deep and husky, and Relena could feel the blood pounding in her head as he leaned closer.

Something abruptly landed on her chest, making Relena jump, a small squeal escaping her swollen lips. Heero instantly went into protective mode, pulling Relena even closer to him in an attempt to protect herfrom the thing that had scared her.

Relena looked down at her attacker as she was assaulted by a pair of eerie green eyes and a whining mew. She cracked up. Little Zero had managed to scare her once more. On a most intimate moment, just her luck.

Heero could feel Relena shaking with laughs in his hands, and he couldn't help but smile a little bit. True, the moment had been ruined, by a cat nonetheless, but it was worth it. His day significantly brightened at the sight of Relena's carefree laugh.

His desire to kiss those rosy, swollen lips got the best of him though, and he hushed her giggles with another heart-felt kiss, doing his best to put all the feelings he had for her in it.

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

He could hear the remnants of the last night's rain dripping to the ground with an almost inaudible sound. He didn't want to open his eyes; he had been having a very pleasant dream, for the first time in years, and didn't want to go back into the harsh reality of life. Suddenly, he was aware of an extra weight draped across his chest, and he could hear a heavy breathing that didn't belong to himself. Bracing himself for anything, he opened his Prussian blue eyes.

He blinked. Once. Twice. He ought to be dreaming, it was the only logical explanation. Things like this never happened to him.

Sleeping over his chest was the girl of his dreams. The golden-haired princess that had continuously crossed paths with him during his pilot days, the one who had spread peace into the world, and into his world too.

A toothless smile spread across his normally stoic features as memories of the night before flooded his mind. So it hadn't been a dream after all.

Looking at his surroundings, he realized they still were in the living room, draped over the same comfortable couch, except that now everything was flooded in light.

Relena's soft body was cradled against him, and he was somewhat in a sitting position, making it easy for him to admire the sleeping young girl. Silky waves of gold tumbled over her like a veil, and her rosy, almost pouting lips parted with each breath she took. He could look at her all day.

It would have been too much to ask of course, for only a few minutes had passed when a small mob of brown fur suddenly landed over the sleeping princess. He fought the urge to snatch her up in his arms and protect her from the danger when two green eyes appeared in front of him. He also fought the urge to growl in desperation. What was it with this cat and jumping on people's stomachs? Particularly that one of a certain blue-eyed girl.

He tried shooing the little cat, in fear that he would wake Relena up, but to his utmost annoyance, not even his death-glare would scare the kitten off. Not seeing any other way, very carefully he disentangled her body from him, being very careful not to wake her up. After what seemed like an eternity, he was able to stand up, gently laying her across the couch in her deep slumber, the stubborn cat still standing on top of her small stomach.

He picked the cat as quickly as possible; fearing that anymore movement would disrupt the princess's deep sleep, and took it into the kitchen. Maybe the little guy just wanted food.

Heero literally dived into the kitchen cabinets in search for cat food, only to find the can of "Whiskas" in plain view on top of the coffee table. Just great.

His mood brightened, however, when the lively kitten literally dived, this time into his food, purring at Heero in gratefulness.

Leaving the dining cat in the kitchen, Heero stepped into the living room, only to find the couch empty, no trace of Relena whatsoever.

After two days of rain, the sun had still not appeared, but it wouldn't be long before it did. The gray clouds above her grew thinner by the minute, and the breeze was starting to pick up. Not that she minded the sun, but she always felt somewhat special on rainy days. A little blond girl running barefoot in the rain, sitting cozily in front of the fireplace, a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows in her hand or sitting outside in her porch, just watching the rain fall down, the sound of the water drops on the roof calming her senses. Those were the memories that always came back at her when Mother Nature opened its skies above, letting the rain wash away humanity's pains. Enjoyable memories that she kept close.

A smile crept unto her lips when she felt a presence stand behind her. It took him only a second to make his decision and sit next to her on the porch's steps. His lingering presence further calmed her senses.

"You could take a job at Preventers, I know for a fact that you would be very welcomed there" she said softly, looking at the gray sky. He said nothing, but she knew that he was listening intently.

"Nobody uses the guest room, well except for Duo but…you can stay here if you want to, and I guess Zero and I could use some company" she braced herself for his answer this time. She didn't know if he would like to stay with her, or continue on his road.

"Hn" his tone was as stoic as ever but, had really Relena looked into his eyes at that moment, she would have seen an unusual glint in them.

Indescribable joy spread throughout her at his positive answer, but she kept her calm, manifesting her happiness as she planted a sweet, bold kiss on his cheek.

Heero allowed himself a sheepish smile as he passed his arm over her shoulders, pulling her closer. Such a simple act, but it managed to express what he was feeling. He would stay with her, and they would help each other begin anew. He still needed much to learn about feelings, emotions and people, whilst she needed to regain the hope and optimism she had lost.

Leaning against her love's shoulder, Relena watched the rainy clouds starting to gather again. She grinned, it seemed like the sun would have to wait a little more. She was glad, she had always welcomed rainy days. Her heart seemed to sing as she realized that now she had yet another reason to remember rainy days with a smile.

Looking at the person at her left, she gave a silent thanks to the rain. Now, every time it rained she would remember the rainy night in which he had come back. For good.

* * *

**AN: **I'm proud to announce that that was the last chapter. Hey, I said it would be a short story. I tried to make the end as un-mushy as I could, hence why it took me so long to finally update. Well, that and my lack of time and inspiration. This is my first story, or was, and I'm really proud of it, even if it wasn't that good. I really hope that you liked it and if you didn't well...too bad. My thanks to all the people who reviewed, their support and suggestions made this story a joy to write. 


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